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Washington abruptly awaited Derrius Guice’s return on Friday, following evidence from his multiple charges of three counts of domestic violence in February. The move became official on Saturday, with a deadline for claiming exemptions over the balance of Guice’s contract arrived at 4pm ET on Sunday.
The nature of the accusations, including a foreigner’s crime, makes it highly unlikely that one would embrace Guice, especially since he would likely land on the Commissioner’s release list. But the possibility cannot be completely eliminated that a team conducted a quick investigation and determined that Guice could eventually be removed. (We are not saying he will be or should be; we are saying that there is a chance that some teams have seen the situation and come to that conclusion.) That is exactly what Washington did with linebacker Reuben Foster in 2018, and pardoned the former first choice after the 49ers cut him after his last proven incident of domestic violence.
Foster was placed on the Commissioner’s release list, but was eventually removed by authorities, and fined (not suspended) by the league.
Washington’s attempt to embrace a new culture probably resulted in a hair-trigger decision to dump Guice, possibly without knowing anything about the specifications of the charges or whether they actually have merits (and they may). At this point no one knows if they do or not; however, we know from experience (recently, formerly Washington, now Seattle cornerback Quinton Dunbar) that accusations do not always lead to real criminal danger or consequences.
If Guice was a slap in the face, it would not even be a question. He would be radioactive. Given that he was one of the top running backs in the 2018 draft and has flashing glimpses of high potential (injuries have been an issue), it is impossible at this point to rule it all out.
There is always a coach who thinks he can fix a problem player. There is always a team that can or will welcome a PR complication in the name of improving the chances of winning games. There’s always a possibility that someone will learn something that asks them to call dibs on Guice.
Whether they should do so is one question. Whether they want that is another matter entirely.
Of course, it is also possible that teams that may have seen the situation soon learned that Guice was probably guilty, and that will not even consider adding him until the situation is resolved. The point is that, until 4pm ET on Sunday, we will not know whether a team has decided to roll the dice on Guice, or whether all 31 other franchises will avoid him at all costs.
